first feed attempt - a success!

[eternalfrost]

i just got my first snake, a bp, today in the mail. put it in its tank and he settled right into his warm hide after a few hours or trying to escape

got a nice fat mousie from petsmart and dimmed the lights, put it in the cage with him. after about 10 min he pokes his head out of his hide, tounge flicking up a storm and strikes home. thought the mouse might be a bit too big(smallest they had at the store) but he gobbled it right down, damn those heads of theres really expand when they eat! then crawled around on his rock then back into his hide, almost couldnt fit through the hole he got so big!

anyways just really surprised that he ate the FIRST day after being shipped, sems most people have to wait a week or two to settle in and still have problems even after that.

thanks for all the help guys

[Nate]

Glad things worked out well

Most people wait a week because they choose to, not because their snake refuses to eat for a week. It's just recommended to wait a week because feeding immediately after a snake spends the night in a box isn't really a good idea...

Are you using a heat rock?

[eternalfrost]

not using a heat rock, i know better then that. just a plain old hunk of granite under the ceramic heat lamp he seems to like to hang out on and bask

[Swingline0.0.1]

got a nice fat mousie from petsmart and dimmed the lights, put it in the cage with him. after about 10 min he pokes his head out of his hide, tounge flicking up a storm and strikes home. thought the mouse might be a bit too big(smallest they had at the store) but he gobbled it right down, damn those heads of theres really expand when they eat! then crawled around on his rock then back into his hide, almost couldnt fit through the hole he got so big!

Most folks don't feed anything more than the girth of the snake... how big is he?

I don't know if you have Pet Warehouses there, but they usually carry hoppers and smaller adults- I think doubling up on a smaller prey item is better than something too big. The theory is not to leave much of a lump- meals that are too large can lead to fasting and other problems.

I kind of went through the rodent list as mine grew- started on hoppers, then we'd give him two; switched to small adults, and now he's on regular adults (mice, that is). I've thought about going to rats, but he didn't really seem to like them.

Congrats on the good feed! I hope he continues to adjust well.

[eternalfrost]

Most folks don't feed anything more than the girth of the snake... how big is he?

hes about 20 inches long about 1.25 inches wide at the thickest part, a 2007.

the width of the mouse hips should equal the widest part of the snake right? thats what i fed him, just seems amazing to see it the first time how such a big mouse can get down that skinny little neck. there wasnt a 'lump' but he was deffinatly'fulller' looking after

[Swingline0.0.1]

hes about 20 inches long about 1.25 inches wide at the thickest part, a 2007.

the width of the mouse hips should equal the widest part of the snake right? thats what i fed him, just seems amazing to see it the first time how such a big mouse can get down that skinny little neck. there wasnt a 'lump' but he was deffinatly'fulller' looking after

Sounds like you got it about right. The PW here has hoppers that are about as big as the smaller adults, and they're cheaper!

Early on, I gave Milton a mouse that was too big (before I found this site!)- he acted like Grampa after Thanksgiving day! He kind of turned on his side even... if he had pants, he'd have unbuttoned them... lol

Mine's about 2 1/2 feet long now, and about 2" thick. My understanding is that they get long, then plump out. I just saw a guy's tonight that's not much over a year and is really thick (and a little over 3'), so that's what we have to look forward to! I remember being excited about him crossing the 2' mark!

Have you seen any adults in person?

[eternalfrost]

Have you seen any adults in person?

nope, ive never even seen any non-wild snake in person besides one of those reptile shows as a kid untill i went to the breeder a few weeks ago.

always realy wanted one and now that im moved out to school i finally can

[Entropy]

I hope your new addition continues to be such a good feeder for you.